Final Fantasy VII: Advent of Crisis
by reithedragonboy
Summary: It's my version of Final Fantasy VII. Some details are added, while others are completely erased, making it into a story different than the one we already know of. It's a different journey, but the ultimate goal is the same: To save Gaia from destruction.
1. Prologue: Cloud

Hello everybody. This is a story that I came up with about four months ago. It's been sitting around in my flash drive all this time, so I figured that I'll let it see the light of day after being cooped up in the darkness of data storage devices. It has been retouched a bit since I wasn't as good a writer then as I am now.

Anyway, I'm just posting this up for you all to see. I haven't really thought of anything past this prologue part of the story. If you like it, please leave a review. Also, please put down whether or not you would like to see more of this. Hope you like what I have down here, and I'll see you on the next update.

Note: The next chapter is also a prologue, but from a different point of view.

Sub-note: I'm still working on my other story, for those of you who came from that one. So don't worry too much about that one being abandoned any time soon. Thanks for all your support!

Sub-sub note: When I came up with this title, I took one word from most of the final fantasy vii games and fused them together. I'm sure you know where I got the first part of it from; Advent came from "Advent Children"; Crisis came from "Crisis Core"; and, believe it or not, of came from "Dirge of Cerberus"... Yeah, the last one was pretty weak, but hey; it ended up working in the end! At least, I hope it worked.

Anyway, now that you know a little bit about this story, I hope you enjoy reading it. Don't forget to leave a review after you're done!

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Prologue: Cloud**

"Alright, cadets!" a loud commanding voice reverberated throughout the training hall where a great bunch of people in blue uniforms stood in line, listening attentively to what the man was going to say. "Today shall be a day I am sure you will not soon forget. From this point on, you are all now considered to be a part of the Shinra Electric Company's army under the title 'Trainee'. I congratulate you all on your hard work in studying for and passing the preliminary test."

A great cheer erupted from the room as all of the cadets that were stationed in there rejoiced. All of them were wearing their blue uniforms, as was customary for those who were either not a designated leader of the cadets or a part of the army's select few meant to be the company's right-hand man, aka. the SOLDIER elite group. With all the blue out there, it looked as though the entire area was once a calm sea that was suddenly disturbed by some unknown force and was now quite active.

"However, this only means that everything from here on out is going to be tougher and possibly more brutal, depending on how you want to interpret it," the person who owned the commanding voice, who was donned in a red outfit, signifying that he was the cadets' commander, voiced out. "You still have a long way to go if any of you ever wish to make it all the way up to the big leagues. I, on behalf of President Shinra, along with the other commanders here at this company, expect you all to give it everything you have over the next few months of training. It is only through that that you will have any hopes of reaching the highest rank of this army, the rank that so many before you have strived to achieve: The high-ranking position as a 1st Class SOLDIER."

Upon hearing the last part of the sentence, most of the cadets vocalized their amazement, and with it, their motivated drive to reach the high ranks. A choice few, though, gave off a vocal sense of dread, obviously thinking about how hard the road to the high ranks was going to be and not liking one bit of it. At this, most of the men in front of the group facing them gave a small raise of their eyebrows in response.

"Did I hear some of you groan in dissatisfaction?" the commander asked in a stoic tone of dissatisfaction. "If so, then you may go ahead and leave the room. The Shinra army doesn't want to have those who do not like the sound of rough training in their ranks. If you can't handle the kind of training that we give to you, there's no way that you can possibly survive the harsh reality of the battlefield. The enemy isn't going to be using training weapons against you out there. They're not going to be playing around with you as if you were best friends. They're going to be dead serious and using weapons that can easily slice you in half or put a nice big bullet hole right through your head. So if you don't like the sound of that, feel free to leave this place right now."

Amazingly, a couple of the cadets that were patiently standing at their designated places made a move towards the door that led to the outside of the training room. They had a look of fear pasted on their faces, although it was hard to catch since they kept their gaze towards the floor for the whole time in shame. Most, however, stood their ground regardless of their fears, also refusing to move aside for those who were seriously leaving.

After a few seconds of patient waiting on the commander's part, four more cadets followed suit and left the training room along with the first two, and they were never to be seen wandering up and down the corridors within the Shinra Company's building's walls again. However, that number was almost brought up to five, thus making a grand total of seven, if it were not for the hesitation of another in leaving and choosing to stay.

This hesitant person who, in the end, decided not to leave the ranks was a young teen boy who looked no older than fourteen but was in actuality older than that. He wore the same uniform as the rest of his fellow cadets, so he was not as easy to pick out from the group. However, his unusually spiky blond hair that seemed to defy gravity itself was practically a one of its kind within the entire room and spoke otherwise. His navy blue eyes looked confused, yet also had a sense of satisfaction shining in them at the same time. Apparently, he already had it set in his mind to see this whole thing through no matter how hard it was going to be.

"I see that we _do_ have some cowards amongst us," the commander said with a small shake of his head in disapproval. He also seemed to be making sure that he did not look at those retreating out of the room. It was almost like he was trying to personally disgrace them by not giving them any eye contact without having to really say anything directly to them. "That is quite a disappointment to witness such a thing. Oh well, it doesn't matter to us now. The sooner the cowardly leave our ranks, the easier it will be for us to sort out those who look like they can handle themselves in the battlefield apart from those who can't.

"That being said, I hope that you all will strive to train your hardest so as to not be put under the 'do not enlist' pile," he continued on without a break in his words to indicate the slight change in topic. "After all, we would like to have quite a few new third class SOLDIERS within our ranks. With that said, I hope that you will take these words to heart as you get yourselves well rested tonight. You will all have an early start tomorrow morning, as it shall be for most of your training.

"And as a little warning to how your morning rituals will be conducted, which you should be happy for since warning people isn't something that I normally do with anybody, you are all to wake up early and arrive at the gymnasium by five a.m. You are all not to arrive late under any circumstances unless accompanied by a higher official, no other exceptions. Failure to do so will result in harsh punishment and potential loss of position within this program itself," he added in a warning tone that made it sound a lot more like a threat. "Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!" the cadets answered back with a customary salute, a key act that all had learned to do lest they wanted to face the wrath of disrespecting a higher-up, whether or not it was done on accident. That and they wanted to get some practice on the act before they were to officially commit to the act every time they met someone of a higher stature than them on a daily basis.

"Well, it sounds as though we're all going to be off on a good start here, aren't we boys?" the man said with a small smile threatening to creep onto his lips and nearly breaking his ever stoic gaze upon the crowd. "You're all even already saluting to me in form of recognition. I can tell that this group is going to be a well dedicated bunch of men. I can't wait to see how you all perform in both your training and studies. Very well, you are all dismissed!"

As the commander made his exit from the front of the room, the cadets moved from their stationary positions, creating a somewhat sharp noise from their new boots. Many of them also gave a tired sigh to accompany the irritating sounds of the shuffling. Apparently, they have been standing in that position for quite a while and were glad to finally be at ease.

"I can't believe it!" one of the cadets stated excitedly to another as the noise started to settle down and they all started to form their own little group. "We actually have a chance to make it into the SOLDIER program! All of us, with most being just simple city and country boys from all over the world, are actually going to be working for Shinra now! It's all like a big dream come true," he added, now starting to sound like an excited girl who just got the scoop on the latest gossip. "I mean, I can't even begin to tell you how cool it is just to be standing here!"

"Oh, you don't have to tell me twice about that," another cadet responded in an equally excited tone of agreement as he gave let a relieved sigh pass through his mouth. He did, however, managed to keep his excitement in check and kept himself from sounding like a common overexcited schoolgirl on her first date or something like that. "I thought that we didn't do so well on the written entry exam. The look on the commander's face seemed to say that."

"He sure had a really straight face on the whole time he was talking to us," the first cadet noticed as he recalled the speech. "I guess being in the Shinra army for a long time gives you a lot of practice. Either that or he's just drained of emotions from all the things he's seen and done."

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I know what I'm drained of," the blond spiky-haired cadet said to the other two, one standing on either side of him. "I'm practically drained of my energy. I'm going to head back to my quarters now, so I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"That's only if any of us can manage to get up at five in the morning," the second cadet added with an annoyed sigh escaping his lips and accompanied with a roll of his eyes. "That's way too damn early for anybody to be waking up. Oh well, I guess we all have to sacrifice something sooner or later if we want to have any hopes of making it to the big leagues here. Anyway, see you later, Cloud."

"Later guys," the blond, whose name was Cloud, waved to the pair as he exited the training room and made his way to the cadet quarters where he was staying for the rest of the time he was going to be here. However, he was stopped when he felt a firm hand grip his shoulder.

"Hold on for just a second there, young man," the owner of the hand said as he somehow managed to turn the boy forcibly around so that they would be looking at each other eye to eye. Obviously, those who have been a part of this army for a while do not seem to practice much along the lines of common curtsey. "I have something that I need to briefly discuss with you."

"Y-yes sir?" Cloud asked, obviously surprised at the sudden action and trying to conceal his reaction, though it was badly done and the man saw right through it with annoyed eyes. All the teen could do was stare back with a blank expression plastered on his face. "Have I done something wrong?"

"As unfortunate at this may be for me, that's not the case here; rather, I need you to take a card out from this box," the man, who looked to be his superior, which was the only possibility seeing that he was only a trainee, the lowest rank in the army, replied sarcastically as he nodded his head to the thing that was in his hands. He apparently did not like the current task he had been assigned to. "It's something that you need to do before you leave."

"Uh, I'm sorry for being blunt, sir," the teen apologized as he examined the long and thin box that had white cards laying in neat columns and rows, "but might I ask just what's written on those cards? I must admit that I'm a bit confused as to what you would want for me to do now. That and you did just suddenly spin me around on my feet without any kind of warning," he added as he scratched the back of his head with slight hesitancy at having to be so truthful to his superior.

"Apology accepted," the man replied, although his tone seemed to betray his true feeling of annoyance at the words being used on him. "These cards have names of all the 1st Class SOLDIERs we have stationed here and ready o be called on for your personal one-on-one training. Think of it as a buddy system of sorts; you'll be assigned to one higher-up and will be studying under him for the rest of your cadetship up until the point where one of you dies or you excel him in position." This comment caused the teen to raise his eyebrows slightly at the man. "In order for us to decide who it'll be that you'll be training under, all you need to do is pick one and that's who you'll be assigned to for personal training for the rest of your time here.

"Now if you don't mind, hurry up and pick a card already, kid," the man stated, his voice clearly showing his impatience and how he was rushing the blond, breaking through the calm façade he was portraying through his stoic facial expression. "I don't have all day to be standing around here waiting for you. I would love to get this all over with before the day's out. I still have to deal with the whole flood of other cadets after you, you know?"

Hesitating at his superior's sudden tone change from explanation to becoming pretty bossy and pushy, Cloud quickly did as he was told and randomly took a card. Before he could even manage to get a steady grip on it, the man moved away towards another cadet, causing the blond to nearly drop the card, thus allowing his superior a quick glance at what was on it. As he was trying to get a better grip on it, he swore that he could have heard the man mutter something under his breath about feeling sorry for the kid and the card he chose, but he was not sure, so he dropped it altogether and turned around for the door once again.

_Sounds like the guy was in a big rush or something_, he thought in a slightly irritated fashion as he finally managed to leave the training room and made his way towards his living quarters without any further distractions. _He definitely didn't seem all that happy about having to give track all us new cadets down and have us pick a random card. He probably got suckered into it or something like that. Oh well, time for me to see who's going to be my personal instructor here._

When he flipped the card over, finally noticing that he was facing the blank side of it, he stopped walking and was captivated by what he saw. The first thing that really caught his eye was how neat and beautiful the penmanship was. Apparently, whoever wrote on the card seemed to have taken good care to make sure that whatever was meant to be on it was written carefully. Not a single smudge or mistake could be seen from the black ink that was used to write the neat words. Now if it were only written just a little bit bigger, it would have looked absolutely flawless. Then again, a whole bunch of stuff was written on it, so it probably was everything the writer could do just to cram the whole darn thing onto it without having to run out of room or end up writing to the point that even a person with great eyesight could not see it.

Once he got past the fact that the handwriting was exceptionally well written and significantly smaller than what he was used to, Cloud carefully read the information that was terribly crammed onto the poor small flash card. He was surprised that he was even able to read the writing without having to use the aid of a magnifying glass or something like that. He was not sure if he was supposed to be feeling happy at the feat or sad that he managed to accomplish it.

_Zackary Fair _

_Age: 17 _

_Height: 6'3" _

_SOLDIER Status: 1__st__ Class Lieutenant-General_

_Experience working as a SOLDIER: 2 years_

_Preferable weapon of choice: Broadsword_

_Comments: I'm_ not_ your average, everyday, stuck-up 1__st__ Class SOLDIER who likes to bask in all his glory at being a 1__st__ Class. Despite only having two years under my belt here, as I'm sure you already read off the card above earlier, I know what I'm doing and I'll teach you everything I know while having some major fun on the side. I won't be too hard on you like the other 1__st__ Class SOLDIERs and will be lenient on a few things (few meaning a lot.) I'm a real laid back guy who likes to practice while having fun at the same time. Hope to become the best of buds with you! Oh, and for the record, you can just call me Zack, not sir, unless we're in front of other superiors, and definitely not Zackary. You have been forewarned. There's no need to go worrying about the whole cadet/superior thing with me. Like I said, I'm a real laid back kind of guy; and once you really get to know me, you'll see that it's the honest truth!_

With a raised eyebrow, Cloud scanned the contents of the card a second time, especially the comments section. It was hard for him to believe that a SOLDIER had written this in such a way, portraying himself as a casual person instead of a serious 1st Class member of Shinra's SOLDIER program. It was almost as though a young child was trying to describe himself to an entire classroom.

_It's probably just his way of cracking a friendly joke_, the blond thought as he shook his head in amusement and felt a small chuckle escape his smiling lips. _The guy's probably trying to make whoever reads this card feel less nervous about having to train under a SOLDIER. At least I can say it somewhat works, because I do feel a little bit less nervous but not by much._

However, when he took a look at the picture that was on the side of the card, which was somehow miraculously able to find just enough space to be pasted on that exact spot, he noticed that it captured anything but a serious face on it. Instead of a serious look like he imagined the person, or others in the SOLDIER program for that matter, to have while taking their picture, this man was all smiles; his black hair was naturally spiked up and adding more to his seemingly happy and carefree nature. One of his hands appeared to be reaching for what looked to be the hilt of a sword behind his back while his other one gave a thumbs-up sign in front of the picture. This was all paired up with a big, goofy grin that revealed a nice set of white teeth and was topped off with dark blue eyes that seemingly reflected this SOLDIER's adventurous, if not flamboyant, side. Overall, the picture itself had practically confirmed everything the 1st Class SOLDIER had written about himself on the comments section.

_I guess I was wrong about him writing all that just so he could calm me down_, he thought as he felt a small grin spreading across his face. _What an interesting guy I got myself paired up with_._ He's just a year older than me and he's already into SOLDIER, 1__st__ Class? That's really amazing! I suppose I can learn tons of stuff from this guy. That and maybe really have a little bit of fun on the side, seeing as how he doesn't look all that serious in this photo. I must be the luckiest cadet here to have this guy as my mentor for the rest of my time here._

With a chuckle at the ending thought, he quickly tucked the card away into his pants pocket and continued on his way to his quarters, thinking about what was probably going to happen tomorrow. However, his mind still somehow managed to wander off to his SOLDIER mentor and what he was going to be doing in terms of training. He was more interested in _how_ he was going to instigate the training.

_I wonder if he performs his lessons in the way he says he does. I really wouldn't mind having just a little bit of fun while I'm here. Judging by the way he looked in his picture, I can take a guess and say that he does. Oh well, there's only one way to find out and that's to wait for tomorrow to come. Oh, I really can't wait until we get to see our mentors tomorrow! God, I feel like a little kid who just got themselves a new toy. I have a feeling that I'll be having a real hard time sleeping tonight!_

_Then again, who wouldn't have a hard time sleeping after seeing such a cute picture? _he added with a dreamy grin plastered on his currently dopey-looking face. _I mean that boyish grin, the spiky hair, the eyes that practically reflect all of his emotions, especially the adventurous part of him; they're all captured onto this one picture. It's just… It's so perfect._

He let out a highly audible sigh as he continued to let his mind wander back to the picture of Zack that was on the card. It was a really addicting sight and he could only imagine how his mentor was going to look like in person. He barely even registered that he'd nearly ran into a commander walking with a stack of papers in his hands nor did he seem to hear the vulgarity thrown at him afterwards about his spacey behavior.

Suddenly, he roughly threw himself off his train of thought by shaking his head a bit and started to berate himself for thinking things like that. Feeling somewhat disappointed in himself for doing so, his facial expression turned into that of a grimace. He got a few strange looks thrown at him from a few workers and fellow cadets passing by him because of his strange behavior, but he did not notice any of them nor did he really care much about it.

_Oh, why am I even thinking like he's the greatest person in the world that I have ever seen?_ he asked himself as he turned a corner and was now just one hallway down from his room. _Yeah, I admit that he has great looks and I'm sure probably an even better personality to go along with it, but he's only going to be my mentor; nothing more, nothing less. Besides, I don't think he's the type of guy who…has affections for another guy like me. Let's face it; he probably wouldn't have been able to make it as a 1__st__ Class SOLDIER if he were gay. Heck, I don't think I'd be able to survive here if I let people know that _I'm_ gay. After all, the army is known to kick out any and all known gay people from their ranks, regardless of their position here. I guess I'll just have to play it cool when I see him and hope that everything will go smoothly. If it doesn't, then I can pack my bags and kiss my ass out of here goodbye._

With that last thought in his mind and another sigh, this time a heavy-hearted one, Cloud had arrived at his quarters. He opened the door and went inside, making sure to close up behind him. He was sharing the small three-room place; a small living room meshed together with a small kitchen, a small bathroom with barely enough room to fit everything that was supposed to be in one, and a small bedroom with bunk beds and a small dresser to the side, with another cadet, who happened to be out at the moment. In other words, every room that was crammed inside this place was small and looked like it could barely sustain one person, let alone two. With a small huff, he blew some stray pieces of hair out of his eyes and made for the bathroom, thinking about taking a quick shower before hitting the sack.

Fifteen minutes later, he came out dressed in a plain white tee and gray sweat pants with his uniform hanging over one of his arms and feeling somewhat refreshed and ready to retire for the night. However, after hanging his uniform on one of the hooks behind the bathroom door, he made a quick trip to the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator door in search for something to drink. Taking out a can of fruit punch, being that it was practically the only thing that was already put in stock for them by Shinra because it was mass-produced by them, he shut the door lightly and popped the tab, taking a quick swig of the sweet and fruity beverage. Now, if only the small television set in the living room had some interesting channels on it and did not have a mind of its own where it decided when it wanted to work, he would be sitting in front of it right now trying to relax. Then again, having decent television in the cadet quarters was probably trying to ask to become a SOLDIER overnight.

_I guess you can't have everything that you want __when you're forced live here,_ he thought with a sigh as he took another gulp of the juice. _Oh well, at least they have a somewhat comfortable bed for us to sleep on and a working fridge to store food and drinks in. As long as they at least have those two things in this small place, then I guess I can survive down here, even if they don't have any interesting channels on the television for us to watch while we're bored out of our minds doing nothing. Then again, we'll probably be too busy training our butts off to be really having the time to just sit down and watch whatever's on. That's something to look forward to, along with all the sore muscles from the intense workout sessions I'm bound to be bombarded with soon,_ he added sarcastically and with a slight hint of bitterness at the thought of having to suffer through training-related sores.

With a small grimace at this last thought, Cloud downed the last of his drink before throwing it away into a trash can right next to the fridge. Stifling a small yawn, which threatened to bring back up some of the juice that had not made it completely down his throat and into his stomach yet, he walked towards the bedroom with the thoughts of sleeping filling his mind. Once he entered the said room, he made his way towards the bunk beds that were situated along the left walls. Paying no attention to the small wooden drawer that was placed on the opposite side of the beds, the brown color a contrast between the simple gray steel beds and bland faded white walls that looked close to gray due to the lack of a fresh new coat of paint, he climbed up onto the top one and pulled the covers over himself. Even though the room had a tendency to grow colder during the night hours and the blanket was too thin to really be considered one, it was still better than nothing.

_You'd think they'd at least install some heaters in here,_ he thought with another yawn as he began to settle down and felt his mind relaxing and switching into sleep mode. _Even one of those small mini space heaters would be better than not even having a heater altogether. I swear I'm going to get sick overnight in here because of having to sleep through cold nights. I can only imagine how it's going to be like when winter rolls around. I wonder if this Zack would allow me a couple days rest if I ever do get sick. I guess I'll figure that out when that time comes._

With that and a few more stray thoughts floating around inside his sleepy and tired head, Cloud felt his mind start to drift further and further away from consciousness. In about another minute, he was completely out like a light and was snoring very lightly. He did not even stir from his slumber when his roommate came in about ten minutes later and quietly greeted him. All he did as a response to it was turn his body so that he was now looking at the wall while giving off a small sleepy smile in anticipation for what tomorrow had in store for him.


	2. Prologue: Zack

In case you are slightly confused as to why both this chapter and the other one says prologue, that means you didn't read the note I put on the other one. Oh well, I'll just repeat it again. This is the second part of the prologue, as viewed in the eyes of the other main character. Enjoy!

Just as a little note, I first thought about posting both of the chapters together as one; but it looked more like I was trying to stretch out the chapter. That and they really were two separate events that could hold their own by themselves, so they were separated. Just a little trivia there. Anyway, enjoy the story and please leave a review!

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Prologue: Zack**

"I'm telling you," an agitated voice nearly shouted inside what looked to be like a room that was meant for holding private meetings, with a long table at the center of the room and chairs surrounding it, "the cadets we've been receiving as of late have been nothing but failures! About half decide to drop the training regimen every year, although that is unfortunately to be expected. Out of the other half that does end up staying, half of _them_ don't seem to be trying hard enough in their workouts! If this keeps up, the Shinra army is going to become one gigantic, disgraceful mess."

"And what do you propose we do about this problem, Major Clamont?" a man with shimmering green eyes that held very faint tones of blue and was donning a long black trench coat asked in an emotionless tone as his long flowing silver hair moved a bit when he turned to look at the man. "If you have any suggestions on how to remedy the situation, I would gladly hear of it. What is it that you think we should be doing in order to fix this unfortunate problem lying before us?"

"Well, I say that we should be stricter on how we present the written tests to them," the man known as Clamont replied to the silver haired man as he fiddled with some of the papers in front of him. "Obviously, we've made it way too easy for them and those with no backbone are able to pass it without as much as a hitch. We need to start imposing only the most advanced questions on the tests so we can then really see who's truly up for the challenge of being a part of the army."

"Oh, come on, Clamont," another person sporting black hair that was naturally spiked without any aid from hair gel products and stunning dark blue eyes spoke up with a nonchalant sigh. "If we end up doing that, we're not going to have many cadets to train. We're already barely above the recommended number of cadets this year as it is. If we do what you're suggesting us to do, then we're going to end up having a lot less SOLDIER hopefuls on our list next year. Combine that with the low enrollment rate that we had this year and it's just a recipe for total disaster. We might as well just send all our enemies an invite to go ahead and invade us."

"Although I do not personally agree with his lack of properness and the way he sums up the situation, I must side with the Lieutenant-General on this, as well," the silver haired man acknowledged with a barely noticeable shifted eye at said man, who looked more like a teenage no older than seventeen, sitting beside him as he slowly got up from his seat. As he noiselessly pushed in his chair, he added, "If the numbers are crunched down to size any more than they currently are now, this building will not be as adequately protected against any possible invasions. Even if we had all the 1st Class SOLDIERs here, I doubt that it would be an easy fight to protect this building from assaulters. I suggest that we leave the test papers as they currently are and deal with the dwindling numbers in a more appropriate manner. We should consider an alternative, one in better taste and measure, in regards to the cadets and their steady decline in strength and discipline before resorting to such a brazen tactic."

"But General Sephiroth, sir!" Clamont retorted while trying to keep a calm voice as he stood up from his seat, causing a couple of his papers to move slightly on the table. He ignored them as he continued to try and get his argument across to the General. "If we don't do that, then we won't have any suitable candid dates to train for such a proud and prestigious position as SOLDIER. We can't make weaklings like them with no backbone in them move into such high of a rank."

"It matters not if they are 'weaklings', as you so bluntly put it," the General replied as he walked towards the door without once turning around and facing the Major. "What really matters is _how_ the cadets will be exposed to the dangers of warfare through their training. Now if you will all excuse me, I have some pressing matters that I must attend to before the night is out. Good night, everybody."

And with that, the General left the room and shut the door behind him without hearing or saying another word. Everybody stayed where they were and were silent for a few seconds, amazed at how the man was able to so calmly give them a piece of his mind on the subject and just walk away as if their discussion was not all that important. Then again, they knew that was how he normally acted on a daily basis, so it was not much of a surprise to them all, especially to the Lieutenant-General.

"Well, at least we now have the General's standpoint on the matter at hand," Clamont replied with a small sigh and a shrug of his shoulders as he sat back down and reshuffled some of the papers in front of him that were disorganized due to his sudden rise from his chair. After bending down to capture a piece of paper that was fluttering to the ground and clearing of his throat a bit, he addressed the rest of the people who were still present in the conference room. "How about everybody else in this room? How do you all feel on this proposal?"

"I thought I already told you guys _my_ stand on this," the spiky raven haired man reminded them as he followed Sephiroth's lead and made for the door himself. "Provided that you're planning on keeping the physical portion of the entrance exam the same, heightening the difficulty of the written entrance exams will only result in the decrease of cadets. That, in turn, will no doubt lessen the soldier head count, and thus, the overall protection for the Shinra building. This will, as the General said earlier, put a notable dent in our security defenses here. It is for this reason, along with a few others that I do not wish to discuss in here that I am against this idea."

"Oh, come on, Lieutenant-General Zack," the man nearly whined before he caught himself after remembering who he was addressing and where they were currently at. "I'm sure not even you are that dense to see how our cadets have been turning out to be the whole of last year. They're becoming more inadequate in their overall performance on the battlefield and are unnecessarily getting themselves killed. This is a result of poorly executed training programs."

"I can see that," the man known as Zack replied as he opened the door and paused for a few seconds. "That's why I'm going to do everything that I can this time around to try and train one of the bests SOLDIER hopefuls you've ever seen. Oh, and as a little side note, you _can_ make weaklings into great SOLDIERs. Take it from me; I was once a pitifully weak cadet myself before I made it all the way here to 1st Class and Lieutenant-General. Now, if I may be excused? As with the General, I have something important that I have to do. Goodbye."

Following the General's lead, Zack left the room and the rest of the people in the meeting were to figure out this problem for themselves. He also left them thinking about the comment that he made about himself, hoping that it would help them come to their senses and show that otherwise weak cadets can be built up into something great, but only if they are given the proper chance to do so. That was something that they were discussing on taking away, whether they were aware of it or not.

"Geez, those people really like to make it harder for the cadets to become a part of the SOLDIER program," Zack sighed as he immediately dropped the serious demeanor that he had held during the meeting. "They must really not want any more SOLDIER 1st Class in their ranks."

"Heh, that's actually quite the opposite, Zackary," a familiar voice coming from nearby answered calmly.

Turning his head in a knowing fashion to see the owner of the voice, he saw Sephiroth standing casually in front of a wall a few feet away from him. He had his arms slightly crossed and had a stoic look on his face, which he usually had on even when he was around those he felt familiar with.

"'Opposite', as in they want to have more 1st Class SOLDIERs in their ranks and are desperate to make it as hard as they can?" Zack asked as he gave off mild facial disgust at the use of his full name. However, the General paid it no mind as he continued to give off that stoic aura. "Please tell me that that's not exactly what you're trying to say to me because it just doesn't make sense."

"That is not what I was trying to say," the General replied passively in a nearly monotonic voice as he uncrossed his arms and looked at the Lieutenant-General with his unnaturally glowing green eyes; eyes that every member in SOLDIER should have had, yet something that the young teen apparently seemed to be lacking for some unknown reason. "I do not know how you managed to get that idea embedded into your head. Anyway, have you noticed how poorly some of the cadets and a few of the 3rd Class SOLDIER members, along with the occasional 2nd Class, acted during certain parts of the Wutai War almost a year ago? We lost some good people in our ranks due to inadequate training on our part and, quite possibly, the lack of discipline on their part. If we did not have a couple of 1st Class SOLDIERs there, the loss would have been greater."

"Well, making the written parts of the initialization test isn't going to be making it any easier. It's just going to deject the cadets even more, if you ask me. We just need to train the cadets better than we have been and make sure that they have the drive to become as great as they can be. I mean, jacking up the difficulty of the written tests is a really bad way to instill that into them. I don't know about you, but I think what they're trying to do is nothing short from stupid."

"Yes, well, I will let you keep your opinion of that to yourself while I go ahead and jump into another subject," Sephiroth said in a somewhat random fashion, catching Zack off guard momentarily at the sudden change in topic. "I did not wait for you out here just because I wanted to talk to you about the meeting. I wanted to talk to you about the selection for the 1st Class members and the cadets that they will be mentoring, and I would rather do it while I still have the time."

"Um, okay… What about it, Seph?" Zack asked as he used the casual nickname he came up for the General after making sure that nobody was around to hear it. "What's so important that you need to talk to me about it?"

"I trust that you remember that I am the General of the SOLDIER program, right?" the silver haired man reminded him as he pretended that he did not hear the nickname that he did not thought highly of. "As such, I have been given permission by President Shinra to assign all 1st Class SOLDIERs the cadets that they will be mentoring for the duration of their training."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that they allowed you to do stuff like that," the raven haired teen replied with a small nod of his head. "Then again, this is only my second year working here as a member of SOLDIER, 1st Class, so I'm not really familiar with the entire procedure yet. But why are you telling me about it? I don't see how that would really be of much importance to me."

"Well, seeing as you are not only a fellow confidant but also a good friend, I thought that you would no mind if I did you a little favor. I am thinking about letting you choose who you want to have train under you; let you have a personal look at who it is that you would find most enjoyable to work with."

"Um, isn't that what you would call 'favoritism', my dear General? It's funny, because that's kind of how I'm seeing this as right now."

"I suppose you could call it that if you so want to. However, I personally see this more as an opportunity that only you would have the privilege of being graced with, being that you are my second-in-command, a position that you managed to obtain within your first year as a 1st Class SOLDIER, a feat once thought impossible to muster.

Besides, if I remember correctly, I do happen to owe you for taking on a mission in my stead when I was unable to do so myself some time ago," the silver haired man added with a hint of a smirk reflecting off on his eyes. "I have not had the chance to thank you properly for that as of yet."

"Do you honestly still have that floating around in your head? Let it go already; that happened six months ago. I told you that you didn't have to worry about feeling like you owed me."

"In the three years that you have come to know me Zackary, you should already know that I do not like the feeling of owing someone something and not doing anything to repay it," Sephiroth reminded him with a hint of a smile breaking through his monotonous voice. "Consider this as one of those very moments. And before you say anything, I will not take no for an answer here."

"I suppose I really don't have a choice then," Zack replied with a defeated sigh as he shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the urge to correct Sephiroth about his name again, knowing that he could care less about it. "You can be a real stubborn guy when you want to be, you know that, Seph? Anyway, when do you want me to start choosing which cadet I want to have train under me?"

"I was hoping that you would be able to do it now," the man replied as he led the young 1st Class SOLDIER to a small lounge area nearby. "After all, the data clerks who maintain these records would like for me to have the choosing finished and tuned in to them by tomorrow morning. Plus, my secretary is in need of something to do since she has a lot of free time on her hands and tends to roam away from her desk from time to time. It tends to get rather annoying when she's constantly not there when you really need her."

As he made to sit down on a brown couch situated beside a small table with a lamp on it, he motioned with his hand to the coffee table in front of him where a couple of manila folders were stationed side by side, each one looking to be carrying a healthy amount of papers. Sighing at their size, Zack sat in the next available couch, right across the table from the general. Just as he was about to pick up one of them, though, he suddenly remembered hearing something about this whole thing.

"Wait a minute," the teen said as he eyed the folders with a raised eyebrow. "I thought that the cadets were supposed to have drawn a card after their assembly was over in order to see who gets to train under whom. That's what I heard some people say before the meeting. Besides, I don't remember ever having a cadet training under me last year when I first became a 1st Class SOLDIER."

"That was because you were still new to the system," the General replied as he picked up one of the folders. "Protocol dictated that you were to have at least one year's exposure to the 1st Class lifestyle before you were eligible to become a mentor. And as to the cadets choosing cards that tells them who they will be paired up with, it is rarely ever going to be the person they picked that is going to mentor them. The cards are just a way to bring up their hopes. It is a slightly underhanded way to teach them that they should not believe everything that they see or hear. Basically, it is just a cruel way to teach them such a lesson before they even get into the training itself. I am sure the same thing happened to you when you were once a cadet."

"Well, I wouldn't say that my experience with the system was cruel," Zack said with a smile as he brought his hand under his chin thoughtfully and remembered full well what had happened when he first became a cadet a few years ago. "Actually, I think it ended up being a lucky break for me."

Back when he had first started out as a cadet for the army, he had to go through the same procedure the new cadets were facing. At the time, he had ended up picking a card that belonged to a 1st Class SOLDIER who was in his early fifties. He looked like an old grouch with wrinkles lining his forehead and his comments said that he only wanted to drill everything into the recipient's head; no room for any casual talk or anything of the like that would potentially be a waste of precious training time. Basically, the card he chose said that he was going to be having probably the worst time of his life training under this fun-deprived old geezer.

When he had to meet his mentor for the first time, though, he was completely taken aback at who was in front of him. Instead of seeing the old grouch that was on the card he had picked, he saw that it was actually a young man who looked to be in his early thirties instead with black hair a big sword on resting on his back. He was also not as serious as the other man that was described on his card, as he had figured out when they had gotten to know each other better, and that was what really made Zack happy when he had first saw his mentor. He was both relieved and happy that he ended up having such a cool and laid back person as a mentor.

"I tell you, you could not have had a better mentor than Angeal Hewley," Sephiroth said with a slight reminiscent tone breaking through his stoic voice. "You know what he told me about you the first time he started training you? He said that you were practically a human version of a restless puppy; so full of energy and a tendency to be overconfident in your own abilities. He had quite a few interesting things to say about you, including how he could not help but imagine you with puppy ears and a tail whenever you gave him the sad puppy look; and the list grew somewhat more over the course of your training."

"That sounds a lot like something he would have talked about," Zack said with a sad smile as he took the other folder left on the table into his hands. "It sounds exactly like something he would've said."

"Despite these interesting comments and complaints," the General continued as he began to peruse the contents of his folder, "he said that you were probably the greatest thing that's ever happened to him. He said that he saw you more as a son rather than a cadet training under him; just as you told me one time that you saw him as a second father rather than just a mentor."

"Did Angeal… Did he really say that?" the young SOLDIER teen asked with a small sniffle.

"Not exactly word for word, but that was the general meaning of it. I'm sure he'll be sorely missed in the years to come. He was a very good friend and probably and even better mentor."

For a moment, the two of them were silent as they remembered Angeal, whom had been reported MIA during the Wutai War a few months ago and has not been heard from since. Because of that and the situation at Wutai at the time, that changed to KIA. Of course, Zack had the news at the time; even now, he still did not believe that his mentor, the strongest person he knew of aside from Sephiroth, was dead. All of a sudden, he snapped out of his thoughts and started to sift through the many papers containing the information of the cadets that were to become SOLDIER hopefuls this year.

"Anyway, if you wouldn't mind keeping your mind focused on choosing a cadet, Zackary," Sephiroth reminded, his stoic tone now back in full force. "I really need to get these done by tonight before my secretary has to leave."

"Yeah, Seph, just give me another minute or so," the young Lieutenant-General replied after clearing his throat a bit. "I need to at least read these papers so I can know what I'm going to be getting myself into. Do I feel sorry, though, for your poor secretary," he added with a small hitch of his breath that constituted for soft chuckling. "Sounds like she's going to have a long night tonight."

With a subtle roll of his eyes and a well hidden smirk, the General pulled out a sheet from his folder and started to intently read it. Zack, on the other hand, was still half-reading/half-skimming the contents of his, already through with half of the papers in it. Soon, he came to a stop on a particular one. He took it out so he could get a better look at what was written on it. His eyes skimmed the neat, computerized print as they described the cadet whose picture was placed on the top-left corner of the page, which he had chosen to ignore for the time being, regardless that it was the thing that caught his eye in the first place.

_Name: Cloud Strife_

_Age: 16_

_Height: 5'7"_

_Blood type: AB_

_Date of Birth: August 19__th_

_Birthplace: Nibelheim_

_Current army status: Grunt/Cadet_

_Weapons of interests: Swords and Guns_

"What the…? This looks a lot like a personal record of the cadet," Zack mused as he looked up from his paper and stared at Sephiroth.

"That is because they are personal records," the General stated plainly as he took his eyes off the records for a small moment to look at the teen before bringing them back to the paper. "Rather, they are the nearly complete versions of each of the cadets' personal record meant for filing into the Shinra database. The only thing missing from them is the signature of the cadet's assigned mentor and the signature of approval from me, the General.

"Normally, I would put all these papers through a machine and have it randomly decide which cadet gets which SOLDIER before handing it to the SOLDIER himself to sign. That is usually how we manage to get the job done all these years, including the time when you were still a cadet. This is why I am saying that what I am doing for you right now is a favor. You get to choose of your own free will, something that the others don't have the privilege of doing."

"Well, I guess it's good to know that I'm not going to be getting some random guy who might end up being a complete creep to train," the teen replied in a tone strong with sarcasm as he continued to read what was on the report. "Thanks for showing me mercy on this front, Seph."

_Notes and Comments: Cloud Strife is a young teenage boy who has passed his written exam with almost no noticeable flaws. His knowledge about the many things surrounding the army, including offensive, defensive, and evasive tactics along with the proper use of weapons, have made him one of the top five cadets in terms of mental standards. Upon filling out a survey given to him before testing, he mentions that he would like to have practice with guns and swords; the practice with swords was highly stressed. A very interesting cadet, this one._

_When given a physical check-up to see if he would fit all the SOLDIER requirements, all his stats barely met the necessary requirements. His weight, height, and build all barely fit the recommended standards of the Shinra Army. The barely passing marks are more than enough to raise concerns about him actually being able to meet the physical standards. Because of this information, it is recommended that his training should start out somewhat easy and gradually work up to the regular training standards of SOLDIER. However, we are not suggesting that you should coddle the teen; just make sure to not overexert his limits._

_Overall, in terms of his mental attributes, we suspect he'll be ready in about a month or two. It truly is something that you do not see everyday in a teen like him. However, in terms of his physical attributes, it should take roughly about six to nine months for him to become a SOLDIER, 3__rd__ Class, provided that he can even handle the training regimen, that is. However, for the sake of recording the opinion of an expert, I do not believe that he will make the cut for SOLDIER._

"Jeez, the last part of the comments makes it sound like they don't have any faith in the kid," Zack said as he finished reading the record and decided to take a better look at the picture that was on it. "Don't they ever learn to not judge others by what they look like?"

The person that was posted on the picture was unlike anybody he had ever seen before. The teen, whose name was Cloud, had stunning bright blue eyes that could have probably given his own a run for his money. His hair was almost the same in style as the SOLDIER's, although it was light blond instead of raven black and possibly even spikier than his own. He also noted that it was naturally done without the telltale sign of gel reflecting off of the camera flash. And to top it all off, the young cadet's face was the near perfect depiction of innocence; a cute, unblemished baby face with somewhat pale skin that gave off both a cute and sheepish smile. His eyes were clearly burning with such great passion that reflected his strong desire to do whatever it took to become a member of SOLDIER. It was basically a great picture that seemed to capture the young cadet's attitude and natural beauty all at the same time while reflecting the slight hesitancy shining in his eyes.

"Unfortunately, this army is quite picky in who it wants to recruit into its ranks," Sephiroth stated as he placed his folder back onto the table and watched the Lieutenant-General stare at the picture dreamily. "They only want the best of the best situated within their ranks. I believe that it is more of a publicity thing rather than fighting standards if you ask me. The Shinra Company wants to gain the full trust of the general public by showing how reliable their army is. And in order to do so, they want to have only the best fighting alongside them."

"Yeah, well, you'd think they'd learn from a few years ago when I became a cadet that that's not really a good route to be following," the young SOLDIER sighed as he placed Cloud's record on the table and the folder on top of the others that the General had placed to the side. "Anyway, I've chosen who I want to have training under me! It's this guy right here, Cloud Strife!"

"This cadet, huh?" the General said as he picked up the paper and quickly perused its contents. "Hmm, he does seem like the perfect cadet for you. He almost looks exactly like you when you first started out as a new cadet a few years ago. Are you sure this is who you want to have train under you?"

"More than anything," he replied with a big smile.

"You are sure that this has absolutely nothing to do with your own personal gain or reasons?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"My own personal gain or reasons? Of course not. I mean, I admit that the kid looks cute, what with that innocent-looking baby face and hair as the color of golden Chocobo feathers, but the only thing I have that would be personal would be to prove the others in the meeting wrong on how they think weaklings can't become a part of SOLDIER. If they're not convinced with me and my successes, then I'll make them convinced with this kid's success."

"That is good to hear. I was afraid that, judging from what I know about you and whatever bit of tidbit you indulged to me about your personal lifestyle, you might take a step right off of the professional path. In other words, I want you to try and keep this relationship strictly cadet and mentor; nothing more than that."

"Geez Seph, you sound like you're being a bit overprotective over me," Zack huffed in annoyance as he rolled his eyes.

"Actually, I am just giving you a bit of friendly advice as well as a warning. Do not forget how the army views those in your shoes."

For a moment, Zack just sat there looking at the General with a quiet stare. Of course he knew what the man was talking about. Heck, he had this conversation before when he first indulged to his late mentor, Angeal, about his sexual preference and how Sephiroth just happened to step into the picture at that exact time. Talk about your seriously awkward moments there.

_At least Angeal wasn't quick to jump the gun on me when I told him,_ he thought as the memory came back to him, the vividness still strong even after three years since the event came to be. _In fact, he was so supportive of me and went on saying how brave I was to tell him that. I really wasn't expecting that. Then again, I really wasn't expecting old Seph to actually walk in on us right at the exact moment I said "I'm gay." Man, that was the scariest moment I have ever came across with in my entire life. It was even worse than the time I nearly got crushed by a falling tree and eaten by a monster at the same time back home. I thought old Seph here was going to go nuts on me when he walked in on me saying that. Scariest moment ever._

"I do not know why you were so scared back then," Sephiroth said as if he had read the young teen's mind. "I have never seen you so frightened and flustered in your entire life. You should have known that I am not the type to judge another so quickly due to his personal beliefs and lifestyle. Then again, you barely even knew me at the time, being that you were still just a cadet. And whatever little you did know about me, it was most likely only through Angeal."

"Yeah, I was so relieved and surprised at the same time when you just simply shrugged off what you heard me say as if it were nothing," Zack said with a small smile as he scratched the back of his head a bit.

"Well, you were a really good cadet then," the General replied with a small nod as his eyes betrayed his stoic features and showed that he was inwardly smiling. "Not only that, but you were also very talented, too. Only a fool would have chosen to kick you out of the army without any regard of your strength and talent. You are just really lucky that it was only me who happened to stumble upon you making your confession to Angeal. Otherwise, things would have gone a lot more differently."

"Yeah, that's something that I don't really want to think about. I'll just stay happy that it was only you who walked in that day.

"Anyway," the young SOLDIER shifted quickly onto another subject, "let's get back onto the main track now. This cadet, Cloud, is who I want to have train under me," the raven haired teen said as he pointed his finger at the piece of paper that had been resting on the coffee table for the past couple of minutes.

"Alright then," the silver haired SOLDIER answered as he moved the paper closer to him. "Just give me a moment to retrieve my pen here and officiate it with my signature. I'll need yours after mines is done."

Once he found a pen inside his trench coat pocket, he placed the paper flat on the desk and began to put his signature on the bottom of the paper. After he did so, he shifted both items across the table where Zack was sitting at.

"All you have to do now is to sign your name and everything else will be taken care of accordingly," Sephiroth instructed the young Lieutenant-General. "Just make sure you do not breathe a word about this to anyone. If you do, then people might think that I am committing to what I believe you called, 'favoritism.'"

"Oh, I wouldn't say a thing about it even if I wanted to," Zack assured him with a big smile as he picked up the pen and signed his name on the line marked, "SOLDIER mentor signature". "This is too good of an opportunity to pass up to have my loud voice announcing it to everybody and ruining it."

"Why do I not feel assured after hearing that?" the General asked with a ghost of a grin breaking his stoic face as he stood up and picked up the folders from the coffee table. "Anyway, if you are done with the signing, would you please give the record back to me now? I have to start working on them now if I ever plan on giving them to my secretary before she leaves."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot that you're planning to sic all of these papers on the poor woman," the young SOLDIER replied with a small half-grin as he handed the paper to Sephiroth. "Well, when you go and give them all to your secretary, tell her that I feel really sorry for her."

"As if I will ever tell her that. Goodnight now, Zackary. I suggest you get some sleep now. Tomorrow is going to be a big day, after all."

"True enough. See you tomorrow, Sephiroth."

And with that, Zack got up from his seat and the both of them started to walk in opposite directions towards their intended destinations. However, not even a couple of seconds later, the General turned around and was looking at the Lieutenant-General's quickly retreating back.

"Oh, Zackary," he called out to the teen, seeing him stop and turn around on the spot, "I believe that you have something that belongs to me."

"I do?" the raven haired teen asked as he gave the General a small questioning look.

"Yes, you do. If you would be so kind as to return my pen that I believe to still be on your personage, that would be most appreciated."

"Oh, that!" he exclaimed as he looked at his hand which was still gripping the pen. "Sorry about that, Seph."

With that quick apology, Zack tossed the black pen back at Sephiroth, who caught it with excellent reflexes and quickly stowed it back into his trench coat pocket. He then gave an apologetic smile at the older man.

"Thank you," he stated as he turned around once more and continued on his way. "Goodnight to you now."

"Yeah, goodnight," Zack replied half-heartedly as he continued on his route back to his room with nothing and nobody stopping or distracting him on his way there.

* * *

Well, I hope you all enjoyed the past couple of chapters. Sorry that I didn't put any names for the cadets that Cloud was talking to in the last one, but their only appearance was in that chapter. The man, Clamont, in this chapter is also only here for this one chapter. I just gave him a name because he was a part of the meeting. That and Sephiroth was talking to him, which means he usually states the person's name when he speaks to them.

Anyway, hoped you like the story so far. I'll see what I can do about continuing on with it. Don't forget to leave me a review after this. Until the next update!


	3. The Chocobo and the Puppy

**Chapter 1: The Chocobo and the Puppy**

When the next morning came around, all the cadets and 1st Class SOLDIERs had assembled themselves in the same area where the cadets had their inauguration ceremony. The place looked to be quite crowded, what with the slew of SOLDIERs also occupying the same space, but it still held enough room for adequate maneuvering.

Within this crowd stood two teenagers; one being a simple cadet and the other as a 1st Class SOLDIER. It was in this moment of time where they will meet for the first time, and without knowing, their fates shall intertwine. Of course, it can only be so once they have officially met each other; and that time was steadily drawing nearer.

The podium that was used in the cadet ceremony last night was still standing, never once having been touched since them; and a man with long flowing silver hair walked up to it. With a clearing of his throat, the room became silent and all eyes and ears were on the man donned in a long black trench coat. Even the men that were standing behind him came to attention and stood tall and proud.

"Good morning, everybody. Before I advance onto the main event on our agenda today, allow me to personally congratulate each and every one of you for the great achievements you have all displayed thus far," the man congratulated all of the cadets, who suddenly erupted with applause. With a raise of his hand, he easily silenced the crowd before continuing on with his congratulatory speech. "You have all worked your hardest to reach this point in time, and you all now stand before me as cadets, the first step towards walking down a great path of a SOLDIER life.

"Allow me to introduce myself to you all; I am Sephiroth, the general of the SOLDIER elite army," he introduced himself to the cadets, all whom were watching and listening to everything he said and did. "I am sure that most of you have already heard of me at one time or another before this. I am also, as you are all no doubt already fully aware of, your high commanding officer in charge of you. As such, you are all now under my direction as of now as fellow members of the proud Shinra army. It is with great expectations that I hope each and every one of you persevere through the many hardships of life and strive to make it into the SOLDIER program.

"As I am sure you are aware, the road to becoming a SOLDIER is not an easy one to tread," the general continued on as he brought one of his hands behind him to show off the 1st Class SOLDIERs who stood behind him in perfect posture and with stoic faces, almost like that of the man himself. "If you work hard and strive for it, though, the benefits shall be great, and the efforts rewarded. Strength alone will not earn you the title; your due diligence, how disciplined you are, and how you present yourself shall also be factors in whether or not you can advance up the rungs of this ladder. While it may hold true that there are only three rungs to climb on this theoretical ladder, keep in mind that with each progression comes challenges more difficult than the last.

"I can only hope that with each growing challenge, your strive to become a 1st Class SOLDIER like those who stand behind me shall become greater. Do not allow yourself to be deterred by the difficulties faced along the road. Do not try to seek out the challenges you know to be lying ahead of you. Rather, allow the challenge to seek you out. Only when it finds you will you be able to handle the problems presented. Never allow impatience to dominate your way of thinking. You will find that in the worst of times, it could be your worst enemy. Conversely, patience can be your greatest ally if utilized correctly and efficiently.

"I hope that with these words in mind, you shall all attempt to work as hard as you can throughout your training to achieve both public and personal fulfillment. Do not ever deter off of your given course and stray too far from your carven path through cadetship to SOLDIER. I wish you all the best of luck in the coming days filled with vigorous training in both combat and discipline. And to guide you along this difficult path and make sure that you stay on it, I now introduce to you all of my fellow colleagues, the 1st Class SOLDIERs who stand behind me, to you all."

With the introduction said, all of the SOLDIERs standing behind Sephiroth took one uniformed step forward to indicate their presence upon being called. They were warmly greeted with the eager applause from the cadets who had stood in silent awe as they paid careful attention to the General's every word, drinking it up as if it were delicious wine and savoring it at the tips of their tongues. They were soon silenced, though, when the man raised his hand up again.

"These SOLDIERs, whom I am more than proud to say have fought through every challenge presented to them to get to where they are now and are living proof that achievement of such a well-sought position is more than possible," he continued on with the sound of a small smile breaking through his stoic demeanor and steadily growing stronger with each passing second, "shall be the ones who will oversee your training. From here on out until the day you achieve 1st Class, you shall be mentored and looked after by one of these fine men. They shall watch over you at times when I myself cannot do so. However, look upon them not only as a teacher, but also as a part of your extended family as if you were older and younger brothers, one learning from the other and in so being kept under their protective gaze.

"Even after you have achieved 1st Class, I hope that you all continue to look upon each other as a part of the family that you hold so dear in the depths of your heart. Never back away from what you have learned and what you have obtained along the road, for every piece of knowledge and memory is just as valuable as the next. Do not ever lose your grasp on those memories. In this occupation, memories may end up being the only thing you have of someone or something," he added with a slightly grim tone and expression passing over him, something that all the cadets, except for one, could not sense but a couple of the 1st Class SOLDIERs behind him could.

"And as family, it gives mentors no greater pleasure than to continue to watch their student learn and grow ever further. It also gives student great pleasure to live the day when they have learned enough to best their teacher in battle. Through that, it shows the time when the student has finally surpassed their mentor, although that will be a long time coming for all of you hopefuls. With those words in mind, I hope that you will continue to learn, even after you have achieved the status of SOLDIER, 1st Class.

"And now, without further ado, let the pairing for cadet and mentor commence!" the general announced with his arms out, a hint of excitement in his voice as cheers erupted from the cadets, practically shaking the entire assembly hall as if there were an earthquake. "My fellow SOLDIERs, go forth to the cadet that you have each been individually assigned as of yesterday. There should be an equal amount of cadets to mentors, so there should be no excuse as to why you do not have one. Now, go forth and seek out the cadet that you shall nurture and watch grow in the coming months and years. I hope that the bonds you create shall be well forged and forever strong."

With those last words of wisdom leaving his mouth, Sephiroth stepped back from the podium just as his fellow 1st Class SOLDIERs moved forward and off of the raised platform. Each man, every one of them of a different age and background, went in search for the cadet that they were chosen to train and watch over. The general simply stood back and watched, making sure that the whole process was kept to a suitable level and went at an orderly fashion.

The cadets, on the other hand, stood their ground and gave off a short round of applause upon the end of the general's speech. They never thought that the man was capable of making a speech of such honesty. What little they did know of the man was all from news articles published by the Shinra Exclusive Newspaper that was shipped worldwide. All wrote about the missions he has been on and the countless heroics he had participated in. They all grew up hearing of his great accomplishments, so to hear him speak so honestly and from the heart as like a normal regular person would do; it was quite the shock for them.

As they saw the SOLDIERs walk towards them, the cadets immediately dropped their applause and stood at attention. They all wanted to look their best for the man that was to mentor them. Some had looks of eagerness reflecting in their eyes; others had disgust or even dread etched into it. They all had picked their cards out vroom last night, so it was safe to say that some of them liked who they were paired up with while others pretty much did not.

The 1st Class SOLIDERs, though, knew better than the crowd full of cadets. They knew that they had drawn out cards that supposedly told them who their mentor for life was going to be. They all knew full well that it was only a trick of sorts meant to teach them that they should not always be getting their hopes up and believing everything they see at face value. Sure, some of them did not like this method of teaching, but they soon realized that it was good to teach them to not always be so gullible; and doing this right when they are about to start training was as good a time as any to start.

With that thought, some could not help but mentally sympathize with some of the eager cadets who saw the person they had apparently thought they were going to be trained under be assigned to another person. They also found the slight horrified gaze that some tried to hold back upon getting someone who looked worse than the one on their card to be a bit humorous.

Of course, there was also the occasional feeling of surprise among them when they saw the rare sight of a cadet actually being paired up with the one they figured they were going to have. That was always a rare occasion, though, since it was not every year that they would see something like this. This time around, it was quite unusual, because an uncommonly good handful of cadets, out of countless fistfuls of them, found themselves paired with the one they had randomly picked out.

However, one of these perfect pairings was anything but a random chance of luck, not a simple game of chance and luck on the giant roulette wheel that was called "life." No, one of these have already been pre-chosen from the night before; and only the general and the SOLDIER who made this deal knew of it. Naturally, this one SOLDIER, who was one of the youngest 1st Class members at the age of seventeen, was the same who met with Sephiroth last night after a meeting with the Shinra executives and other important people, Zack Fair.

At the same time this spiky raven haired teen was traversing through the sea of fellow 1st Class colleagues and cadets, a spiky blond haired cadet stood nervous on the spot he stood at before and during the speech. This teen, who was one of the youngest of this particular year's group of cadets at the age of fifteen, was none other than Cloud.

As he saw the many mentors quickly dwindling and pairing up with the lessening number of cadets all around him, he could not help but feel nervous about seeing the one that was assigned to him. He knew some of the cadets and mentally took note that all of them did not end up being paired with the one they had drawn randomly last night. Sure, he was happy that some ended up getting someone better in terms of stats and looks; yet he also felt sorry for those who ended up getting worse. He could only hope that he either got paired with the one he drew, which was his number one wish now, or ended up getting someone even better if he was switched; but he could not think of anybody fitting any better than him.

Seconds felt like minutes to the slowly panicking blond, and he continued to see others meet up with their mentors while the teen with raven hair that resembled that of a porcupine's had still yet to appear before him. Conversely, the raven haired teen was trying to maneuver through the crowd towards the tell-tale sign of spiky blond hair that stood out like a golden chocobo's feathers in the bright sunlight with small careful steps that felt more like big and unpredictable strides.

Both were no doubt nervous in their own way, one more so out of fright and the other in pure anticipation. One felt like he was running through a painfully long corridor with no end to it; the other felt like he was walking on top of terribly thick molasses in combination with millions of chewed gum lacing the floor through a terribly short hallway. They both just could not quell down their individual feelings and just wanted for things to hurry along.

Soon enough, both teens finally were able to meet each other face-to-face for the very first time. Once they were no more than a couple feet away from each other, the roles in attitude seemed to do a flip-flop. Cloud was no longer the frantic bundle of fright like he was before the approach of the SOLDIER. He was now giddy with excitement that came rushing over him when he saw the undeniably cute face of the teen that he had seen on his card. And once his eyes connected with deep dark ocean blue ones, he felt like one of the luckiest cadets in the entire room right then and there.

Zack feelings, on the other hand, had taken a plunge from being giddy and nervously happy like a hyper puppy to being just plain nervous…like a lost puppy, and it was quickly going even lower than that. He tried to keep the smile that everybody in the army that knew him had associated with him, but it turned out to be more of a nervous twitch of his lips instead. He let out a small nervous chuckle as he nervously rubbed the back of his head at the sudden feeling of skittishness consuming his senses and kept his eyes on anything but the blonde's stunning sky blue ones and unblemished face.

"Uh, hey buddy!" the raven greeted with a small smile, making sure that his voice was sounding confident, a clear contrast to the feeling his body was unconsciously portraying. "It looks as though we'll be together from here on out, huh? Well, good to make the best of it while we can, especially since we're going to be together for the rest of our lives!" he joked in an attempt to break the tension in the air. With a small clearing of his throat, he added, "My name's Zack, by the way; Zack Fair. What's yours?"

"Uh, C-Cloud Strife, sir!" the blond addressed the SOLDIER with a stutter after swallowing a rather thick build-up of saliva in his mouth. "It's-it's a pleasure to finally be able to meet with you in person, sir!" he added with a salute that looked more like nervous fidgeting, and the raven could not help but mentally chuckle at how cute it looked.

"Finally be able to meet with me in person?" the older teen repeated with raised eyebrows, his tone now full of curiosity in replacement for his earlier nervousness. Thanks to his natural aura, he could never stay nervous for too long, regardless of circumstances. This was no exception to the boy's uncannily happy and bubbly nature. He then added with a smirk that was all to familiar of a sight for his face to don, "By the way you said that, I'm guessing that you just happened to draw my card out from a random picking after your cadet inauguration last night, right?"

"That's…pretty much what happened, sir," the younger teen stated with a small smile gracing his lips, seemingly making him glow with happiness. "It wasn't until just now that I found out my chances of actually being paired off with you were…significantly less than I thought it to be."

"Yeah, the odds are always stacked against you on something like this. Anyway, seeing as how you did get my card, I'm guessing that you also read what I wrote on there. Don't you remember me saying something along the lines of not really wanting to be called 'sir,' cadet?" he added in a teasing tone.

"Of course I remember that, sir. However, don't you remember that you specifically put down that you should not be addressed casually when in front of other superiors? You did write that down on this card, did you not sir?" he asked with a playful smile as he pulled out the now slightly wrinkled white card he had drawn last night and handed it to the SOLDIER.

"Don't tell me you still kept that card with you?" Zack asked with slight disbelief as he took the card into his hands and quickly reread what he had written on it. "…Yep, this definitely looks like my handwriting. What do you know? I just got myself one-upped by a cadet I only just met a minute ago. Boy, it can't get any more embarrassing than that, I tell you."

"S-sorry sir," Cloud quickly apologized as he diverted his gaze away to something else, his voice suddenly growing so low; the man barely caught it amongst the other loud noises in the room. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Oh, I was just teasing you, Cloud!" the raven haired teen responded with a huge grin and a sudden change in attitude. "Let me tell you; it's almost impossible to embarrass someone like me. Trust me; once you get to know me a bit better, you'll be able to know when I'm just joking with you. So don't worry about it, alright?"

"A-alright," the blond responded, steadily regaining confidence in his voice bas he brought his eyes back to the teen in front of him. With a small smile, he added, "I'm not really used to being so friendly with someone else so quickly. Sorry."

"Oh, stop apologizing already!" the SOLDIER responded with a light playful punch to the arm. "You're starting to sound like an eight-year-old who just told a rather harmless secret and is scared to death about it. I'm guessing it's all the energy in the air here, but you really need to loosen up a bit. Tell you what; how about we go ahead and crash a bit at my place after this? That sound good to you?"

"You want me…to go to your place after this? Isn't that against the rules or something? And if not, then why?"

Alright; first of all, it's not against the rules when a SOLDIER invites you to their home. Secondly, the rules regarding you, as well as other cadets, being able to come and go freely to their assigned mentors' rooms is about to change; in my opinion, it's for the better. Lastly, I'd like for you to come with me because I want to get to know you better. Does that answer your questions?"

"Pretty much. Although I seemed to managed to get more out of you than what I originally asked for."

"Yeah, well, just don't go blabbing on to other people about the second thing I told you. To be honest with you, I was supposed to be quiet about that. I wasn't even allowed to tell you that much. I hope you can keep a secret."

"Don't worry, sir; your secret's safe with me!" Cloud purposely whispered out with a childish smile. "Like I would even go about talking to other people about things I don't really know much about myself anyway. Just so you know, I'm not some kind of fan girl, or fan boy, who likes to spread rumors around."

"Are you trying to sweet-talk me so you can get me to spill out some more secrets?" Zack asked, his tone clearly showing that he was just teasing and the stone face he had on was just a farce.

However, before he was able to say anything else, the blond cadet immediately stood at attention and gave a salute. Catching the movement, the raven raised his eyebrows in question before he was verbally answered by an all-too familiar voice addressing them from behind.

"I suppose that everything is going along just fine here," General Sephiroth, whom Zack saw a second after he turned around upon hearing the voice, assumed with a stoic look at the two teens. "I am not wrong in that assumption, am I?"

"Oh, of course not, General!" Zack answered back casually as he beamed a rather grateful smile at the man, one the younger teen completely missed. "Everything's going along as fine as it can be. In fact, me and Cloud here have become fast friends, wouldn't you say so buddy?" he asked as he put a friendly shoulder over the blond.

"That's kind of what I had in mind, sir," Cloud answered as he blushed a bit upon feeling the gentle touch of the man's strong arm around his shoulders, an action missed by the SOLDIER completely. "If you're going to be my mentor, then it'd be better if we were to also be friends, right?"

"Took the words straight out of my mouth!"

For a moment, the general only shifted his eyes ever so slightly between the two, almost as if he were deep in thought about something. He then asked suddenly, "Hmm, would you mind if I talked with you alone for a minute or two, Zackary?"

"Sure, no prob!" the raven haired teen responded, causing the younger boy underneath him to recoil a bit in shock at how he casually addressed his higher-up. He then let his arm off of his shoulders and said, "Be back for you later, spiky. Just hang tight for a few minutes."

And with that said, Zack was walking off with the General towards a corner in the room where they could have some amount of privacy to discuss whatever it was that they were supposedly discussing.

"Sp-spiky?" Cloud repeated out loud with one of his eyebrows raised in both confusion and intrigue. "I'm guessing that's a nickname he just came up for me."

Before he had a chance to contemplate further on the subject, he suddenly found himself in the middle of a sea of cadets who had saw the General approach him and his mentor earlier. All were talking animatedly and it was hard to even hear a full sentence out of the crowd.

"Wow, the general actually spoke to you!" Actually, he spoke more to Zack than me. "I can't believe you managed to keep your cool when he came up to you!" That's because he hardly spoke to me, so there was no problem on that. "I bet you he's better-looking up close than he is from the podium, is he?" How the hell should I know that? I'm not some fan boy constantly ogling him.

All these questions, or at least all the ones that he could hear from the overexcited cadets surrounding him, he silently answered in his head. He felt no need to answer them because he knew in his head that simply having the general walk up to him was nothing completely out of the ordinary. However, he did consider answering one question that was different from the rest.

"What do you think about your mentor?" one of them asked, the owner's voice clearly showing the envy behind his words. "He looked so cool and laid back; a whole lot better than the old geezer I ended up being paired up with. Tell us, is he cool? Is he really laid back?"

For a moment, Cloud looked thoughtful as he tried to find a way to sum up Zack in one sentence. After a while, he said, "He's all that and probably more than what I would expect." Or less, depending on what we're talking about here, he added silently to himself.

While the poor blond was being accosted by a circle of zealous cadets, Zack was busy speaking with Sephiroth while sending an occasional glance at the huge crowd he knew his cadet to be somewhere in the middle of.

"I take it that he's an easy boy to befriend," the general stated more than he asked, keeping his eyes on the SOLDIER in front of him and seeing how his eyes never really focused on him.

"Oh, you don't know how easy," the raven haired teen stated as he smiled in a rather dreamily way. "I mean, I know that I'm good at making new friends and all that; but I didn't think it'd be so easy this time around. I must be getting better at this friend-making business."

"Well, I'm sure that you don't need any reminding, but make sure that you keep this as cadet-to-mentor and, at times, friend-to-friend only," the silver haired man reminded him with a stern tone. "Remember what I said to you about this yesterday."

"Don't worry; I'll remember. Just wondering, though, what if we happen to really click together and started working things to the next level on our free time?"

"Then I'll say that you better think up a good excuse for the directors of this army. Off-duty or not, you know how strict they are on 'non-casual' encounters, especially when it's not in the traditional sense," the tall man added with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Aww, and here I was hoping that you'd be able to back me up if I ever decided to do something as crazy as that," Zack groaned out in mock despair as he continued to look at the spiky tuft of hair that signified where Cloud was.

"Just what is it that you see in that cadet, Zackary?" Sephiroth asked in a tone that one could have easily misinterpret as either disgust, suspicion, or both. The raven haired teen, however, knew better and knew that it was his curiosity tone that he was using. Only someone who was as close to the general as Zack was would know how to read the man and not get the wrong impression.

"Well…," the young SOLDIER started before he stopped to think about it. He then said, "I see a lot in Cloud. I see the drive to become SOLDIER, the passion to work just as hard or even better than the other cadets, and most importantly, the drive to do whatever it takes to become a SOLDIER. I see a whole lot of potential in that little guy and probably a whole lot more of what I just can't see, as well." Or less, depending on what I'm even talking about here, he added silently, knowing full well that the silver haired man would be questioning him without end if he heard it.


End file.
